Brake carrier and method of manufacture

ABSTRACT

A brake carrier and a method of manufacture. The brake carrier may have leading and trailing brake pad abutments. The leading brake pad abutment may have an unmachined leading wall surface and an unmachined leading floor surface. The trailing brake pad abutment may have a trailing wall surface and a trailing floor surface, at least one of which may be machined.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a division of U.S. application Ser. No. 15/730,193,filed Oct. 11, 2017, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated inits entirety by reference herein.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure relates to a brake carrier and a method of manufacture.

BACKGROUND

A brake carrier is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,222,532.

SUMMARY

In at least one approach, a unitary cast brake carrier is provided. Theunitary cast brake carrier may include a leading brake pad abutmentdefining a leading horizontal surface, and a leading vertical surfaceextending generally orthogonal to the leading horizontal surface. Theleading vertical surface may be unmachined. The unitary cast brakecarrier may further include a trailing brake pad abutment disposedopposite the leading brake pad abutment to receive a brake pad assemblybetween the leading brake pad abutment and the trailing brake padabutment. The trailing brake pad abutment may define a trailinghorizontal surface and a trailing vertical surface extending generallyorthogonal to the trailing horizontal surface. The trailing verticalsurface may be machined and may have a surface roughness value less thana surface roughness value of the leading vertical surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded view of a brake assembly.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a brake carrier that may be providedwith the brake assembly.

FIG. 3 is a rotated perspective view of the brake carrier of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a die assembly for casting the brakecarrier.

FIG. 5 is a cross section of the brake carrier along section line 5-5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention that may be embodied in variousand alternative forms. The figures are not necessarily to scale; somefeatures may be exaggerated or minimized to show details of particularcomponents. Therefore, specific structural and functional detailsdisclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as arepresentative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a brake assembly 10 is shown. The brake assembly 10may be provided with a vehicle, such as a motor vehicle like a truck,bus, farm equipment, military transport or weaponry vehicle, or cargoloading equipment for land, air, or marine vessels. In at least oneapproach, the brake assembly 10 may include a housing assembly 20, afirst brake pad assembly 22, a second brake pad assembly 24, and atleast one brake pad spring 26.

The housing assembly 20 may receive various components of the brakeassembly 10. In addition, the housing assembly 20 may facilitatepositioning of the first brake pad assembly 22 and the second brake padassembly 24 with respect to a rotor 28, also known as a brake disc, tofacilitate braking of the vehicle. In at least one approach, the housingassembly 20 may include a brake carrier 30, a housing 32, and a bridge34.

The brake carrier 30 may be fixedly mounted to the vehicle. For example,the brake carrier 30 may be connected to an axle assembly or a steeringknuckle, such as with an intermediate component like a torque plate inone or more embodiments. The brake carrier 30 may receive and/or supportthe first brake pad assembly 22 and the second brake pad assembly 24,and may include a rotor opening that may be configured to receive therotor 28. As such, the brake carrier 30 may straddle the rotor 28 andhelp position the first brake pad assembly 22 and the second brake padassembly 24 on opposite sides of the rotor 28.

The housing 32 may be moveably disposed on the brake carrier 30. Forexample, the housing 32 may be slidably disposed on a pair of guide pinsthat may be fixedly disposed on the brake carrier 30. The housing 32 maybe associated with or may receive at least one actuator that may actuatethe first brake pad assembly 22 and the second brake pad assembly 24into engagement with the rotor 28. More specifically, the actuator mayactuate the first brake pad assembly 22 into engagement with the rotor28 and then move the housing 32 and bridge 34 to actuate the secondbrake pad assembly 24 toward the rotor 28. The actuator may have anysuitable configuration. For instance, the actuator may include a pistonassembly that may be pneumatically, hydraulically, mechanically,electrically, or electromechanically actuated in one or moreembodiments. The piston assembly may move along an axis toward or awayfrom the rotor 28 such that the piston assembly may exert force againsta back side of the first brake pad assembly 22.

Referring to FIG. 2, the brake carrier 30 may be a unitary (“one-piece”)cast brake carrier 30. The brake carrier 30 may define a leading portion40, a trailing portion 42, and a bridge 44 extending between the leadingportion 40 and the trailing portion 42. As used herein, the leadingportion 40 of the brake carrier 30 may be the portion that the rotor 28rotates “into” when the vehicle is moving in the forward direction, andthe trailing portion 42 may be the portion that the rotor 28 rotates“away from” when the vehicle is moving in the forward direction.

The leading portion 40 may define a leading inboard portion 50, aleading outboard portion 52, and a leading arm 54 extending between theleading inboard portion 50 and the leading outboard portion 52.

The trailing portion 42 may define a trailing inboard portion 60, atrailing outboard portion 62, and a trailing arm 64 extending betweenthe trailing inboard portion 60 and the trailing outboard portion 62.

The brake carrier 30 may include a plurality of abutments that may beadapted to support and retain brake pads. For example, the brake carrier30 may include a first inboard abutment, referred to herein as leadingbrake pad abutment 70, at the leading inboard portion 50. The brakecarrier 30 may further include a second inboard abutment, referred toherein as a trailing brake pad abutment 72, at the trailing inboardportion 60. The trailing brake pad abutment 72 may be disposed oppositethe leading brake pad abutment 70 to receive a brake pad assembly (e.g.,first brake pad assembly 22 of FIG. 1) between the leading brake padabutment 70 and the trailing brake pad abutment 72.

The brake carrier 30 may further include a first outboard abutment,referred to herein as leading brake pad abutment 74, at the leadingoutboard portion 52. The brake carrier 30 may further include a secondoutboard abutment, referred to herein as a trailing brake pad abutment76, at the trailing outboard portion 62. The trailing brake pad abutment76 may be disposed opposite the leading brake pad abutment 74 to receivea brake pad assembly (e.g., second brake pad assembly 24 of FIG. 1)between the leading brake pad abutment 74 and the trailing brake padabutment 76.

The abutments 70, 72, 74, 76 may be generally L-shaped abutments. In atleast one approach, each abutment defines a generally horizontal surfaceand a generally vertical surface. The generally vertically surfaces mayextend, for example, generally orthogonal to the generally horizontalsurfaces. As used herein, terms such as “horizontal” and “vertical” areused with reference to the brake carrier orientation shown in thefigures and are intended to convey relative orientation. It is expresslycontemplated that the brake carrier 30 may be disposed in an orientationdifferent than that shown in the figures.

The outboard abutments (leading brake pad abutment 74 and trailing brakepad abutment 76) may have a different configuration than the inboardabutments (leading brake pad abutment 70 and trailing brake pad abutment72). For example, the leading brake pad abutment 74 and the trailingbrake pad abutment 76 may each be provided with notches 78 at upperregions of the abutments.

In at least one example approach, the leading brake pad abutment 70 mayinclude a leading horizontal surface 80 and a leading vertical surface82, and the trailing brake pad abutment 72 may include a generallyhorizontal surface 84 and a generally vertical surface 86. Similarly,the leading brake pad abutment 74 may include a leading horizontalsurface 88 and a leading vertical surface 90, and the trailing brake padabutment 76 may include a trailing horizontal surface 92 and a trailingvertical surface 94.

The abutments 70, 72, 74, 76 may form receptacles adapted to receivebrake pads or brake pad assembly. For example, the leading brake padabutment 70 and the trailing brake pad abutment 72 may form a firstreceiving region 100 sized and adapted to receive a brake pad assembly(e.g., first brake pad assembly 22 of FIG. 1) between the leading brakepad abutment 70 and the trailing brake pad abutment 72. Similarly, theleading brake pad abutment 74 and the trailing brake pad abutment 76 mayform a second receiving region 102 sized and adapted to receive a brakepad assembly (e.g., second brake pad assembly 24 of FIG. 1) between theleading brake pad abutment 74 and the trailing brake pad abutment 76.

In at least one approach, one or more surfaces of the abutments 70, 72,74, 76 may be machined, and other surfaces may be unmachined. Thedifferent surface finishes may be expressed as having different surfaceroughness values.

An unmachined surface may be a surface that is formed during a castingprocess (e.g., a sand casting process). An unmachined surface may have asurface roughness value greater than 10 micrometers. For example, anunmachined surface may have a surface roughness value in the range ofapproximately 12 micrometers to approximately 25 micrometers.

A machined surface may be a surface that has undergone a machiningprocess. The machining process may be any process that alters a surfacedimension or surface finish. Example machine processes may include suchas boring, broaching, drilling, electrical discharge machining,electrochemical machining, electron beam machining, milling,photochemical machining, planing, reaming, sawing, shaping, tapping,turning, and ultrasonic machining. A machined surface may have a surfaceroughness value less than or equal to 10 micrometers. For example, amachined surface may have a surface roughness value in the range ofapproximately 5 micrometers to approximately 7 micrometers.

In this way, surfaces of the abutments 70, 72, 74, 76 may be providedwith different surface finishes. In the approach shown in FIGS. 2 and 3,the vertical surfaces of the leading abutments may be machined surfaces,and the vertical surfaces of the trailing abutments may be unmachinedsurfaces. More particularly, the leading horizontal surface 80 of theleading brake pad abutment 70 may be a machined surface, and the leadingvertical surface 82 may be an unmachined surface. Similarly, the leadinghorizontal surface 88 of the leading brake pad abutment 74 may be amachined surface, and the leading vertical surface 90 may be anunmachined surface. Trailing vertical surfaces 86, 94 and trailinghorizontal surfaces 84, 92 of the trailing brake pad abutments 72, 76may be machined surfaces.

Referring now to FIG. 4, a brake carrier 120 may be formed at a castingassembly 122. The casting assembly 122 may include a first die 124 and asecond die 126. The first die 124 may be moveable with respect to thesecond die 126 along an axis 128. The first die 124 and the second die126 may cooperate to define a cavity 130 when disposed against eachother along a mating plane 132. The mating plane 132 may extendgenerally perpendicular to the axis 128. In the closed configuration,the first die 124 may engage the second die 126 continuously around thecavity 130 in the mating plane 132. The cavity 130 may have a pluralityof regions, such as a leading brake pad abutment region 130 a and atrailing brake pad abutment region 130 b,

Molten material may be introduced into the cavity to cast the brakecarrier 120. The brake carrier 120 may have a leading wall surface 134that may be at least partially disposed in the first die 124. Theleading wall surface 134 may be disposed at an angle relative to theaxis; for example, an angle of approximately 3 degrees.

The brake carrier 120 may also have a leading floor surface 136. In atleast one approach, the leading floor surface 136 may be at leastpartially disposed in the first die 124. For example, the leading floorsurface 136 may be completely disposed in the first die 124. The leadingfloor surface 136 may be disposed at an angle 138 substantiallyperpendicular to the leading wall surface 134. The leading floor surface136 may be disposed in a nonparallel relationship with the mating plane132.

The brake carrier 120 may also have a trailing wall surface 140 that maybe at least partially disposed in the first die 124. The trailing wallsurface 140 may be disposed at an angle relative to the axis; forexample, an angle of approximately 3 degrees.

The brake carrier 120 may also have a trailing floor surface 142. In atleast one approach, the trailing floor surface 142 may be at leastpartially disposed in the first die 124. For example, the trailing floorsurface 142 may be completely disposed in the first die 124. Thetrailing floor surface 142 may be disposed at an obtuse angle 144relative to the trailing wall surface 140. The obtuse angle 144 may be,for example, in the range of approximately 94 degrees to approximately98 degrees, and more particularly, approximately 96 degrees. Thetrailing floor surface 142 may be coplanar with the leading floorsurface 136; for example, within plane 146. The leading floor surface136 and the trailing floor surface 142, in plane 146, may be disposed ina nonparallel relationship with the mating plane 132. For example, theleading floor surface 136 and the trailing floor surface 142 may extendin plane 146 at an angle 148 of approximately 3 degrees relative to themating plane 132.

Referring now to FIG. 5, a brake carrier 150 formed by a castingassembly (such as the casting assembly 122 of FIG. 4) may be machined.The brake carrier 150 may include a first leading brake pad abutment 152that may have an unmachined leading floor surface 154 and an unmachinedleading wall surface 156. The unmachined leading wall surface 156 may bedisposed at an angle 158 such that the unmachined leading wall surface156 is generally perpendicular to the unmachined leading floor surface154.

The brake carrier 150 may further include a first trailing brake padabutment 160 that is spaced apart from the first leading brake padabutment 152. The first trailing brake pad abutment 160 may include anunmachined trailing floor surface 162 and an unmachined trailing wallsurface 164. The unmachined trailing wall surface 164 may extend at anobtuse angle 166 relative to the unmachined trailing floor surface 162.The unmachined trailing wall surface 164 may be disposed in anonparallel relationship with the unmachined leading wall surface 156.

The unmachined leading vertical surface 156 and the unmachined trailingwall surface 164 may have a common surface roughness that may be, forexample, greater than 10 micrometers.

In at least one approach, material 168 may be removed material from theunmachined trailing wall surface 164 to form a machined trailing wallsurface 170. Material 168 may be removed such that the machined trailingwall surface 170 is angularly offset from the unmachined trailing wallsurface 164. For example, material 168 may be removed such that themachined trailing wall surface 170 is angularly offset from theunmachined trailing wall surface 164 by an angle 172 of approximately 6degrees.

The machined trailing wall surface 170 may be disposed at an angle 174to the unmachined leading floor surface 162. For example, the machinedtrailing wall surface 170 may be disposed in a perpendicularrelationship with the unmachined leading wall surface 162.

The machined trailing vertical surface 170 may have different surfaceroughnesses. For example, the machined trailing vertical surface 170 mayhave a surface roughness less than or equal to 10 micrometers. In thisway, the machined trailing vertical surface 170 may have a surfaceroughness less than the unmachined leading vertical surface 156.

Furthermore, whereas the unmachined leading wall surface 156 and theunmachined trailing wall surface 164 may have been disposed in anonparallel relationship, the machined trailing wall surface 170 may bedisposed in a parallel relationship with the unmachined leading wallsurface 156.

In at least one approach, in addition to forming the machined trailingwall surface 170, removing material 168 from the unmachined trailingwall surface 164 forms a ledge surface 176 that extends from themachined trailing wall surface 170 toward the first leading brake padabutment 152. The ledge surface 176 may be disposed above andsubstantially parallel to the trailing floor surface 162.

The machining of the brake carrier 150 may include not removing materialfrom the unmachined leading wall surtface 156 so that the unmachinedleading wall surface 156 remains as-cast.

In at least one approach, the machining of the brake carrier 150 mayfurther include not removing material from the unmachined trailing floorsurface 162 so that the unmachined trailing floor surface 162 remainsas-cast. In still another approach, the machining of the brake carrier150 may further include removing material from the unmachined trailingfloor surface 154 to form a machined trailing floor surface 178.

In at least one approach, the machining of the brake carrier 150 mayalso include not removing material from the unmachined leading floorsurface 154 so that the unmachined leading floor surface 154 remainsas-cast. In still another approach, the machining of the brake carrier150 may include removing material from the unmachined leading floorsurface 154 to form a machined leading floor surface 178.

In at least one approach, one or more unmachined surfaces may define adatum feature and thus, may be utilized as a datum reference during themachining of one or more surfaces of the brake carrier 120. For example,unmachined leading floor surface 154 and unmachined leading wall surface156 may be utilized as datum references during the machining of one ormore of the trailing floor surface 162 and the trailing wall surface164. More particularly, when the brake carrier 120 is disposed in amachining fixture or framework, one or more locations on the unmachinedleading floor surface 154 and unmachined leading wall surface 156 mayserve as datum references for a machine head. As used herein, a “datum”may refer to a point, axis, or plane of the brake carrier 120. In thisway, a datum may be a selected base from which other features or pointsare located at the brake carrier 120. That is, a datum may serve as theorigin from which the location or geometric characteristics of featuresof the brake carrier 120 are established. Locating datum references on“as cast” surfaces may allow for the machining of other surfaces withina given tolerance.

In this way, the method for forming the brake carrier may includedisposing the brake carrier proximal a machining assembly. The methodmay further include engaging the unmachined leading wall surface with afixture portion of the machining assembly. When fixture portion is inengagement with the unmachined leading wall surface, the method mayfurther include removing material from at least one of the unmachinedtrailing wall surface (e.g., to form the machined trailing wall surface)and the unmachined trailing floor surface (e.g., to form the machinedtrailing floor surface).

In at least another approach, the method may include engaging anunmachined leading floor surface with a fixture portion of the machiningassembly. When fixture portion is in engagement with the unmachinedleading floor surface, the method may further include removing materialfrom at least one of the unmachined trailing wall surface (e.g., to formthe machined trailing wall surface) and the unmachined trailing floorsurface (e.g., to form the machined trailing floor surface).

The first leading brake pad abutment 152, including the unmachinedleading vertical surface 156 and the leading floor surfaces 154 or 180,and the first trailing brake pad abutment 160, including the machinedtrailing wall surface 170 and the trailing floor surfaces 162 or 178,may cooperate to define a first opening for receiving a first brake pad,such as brake pad assembly 24 shown in FIG. 1.

While exemplary embodiments are described above, it is not intended thatthese embodiments describe all possible forms of the invention. Rather,the words used in the specification are words of description rather thanlimitation, and it is understood that various changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Additionally, the features of various implementing embodiments may becombined to form further embodiments of the invention.

1. A brake carrier comprising: a first leading brake pad abutment thathas an unmachined leading floor surface and an unmachined leading wallsurface that is disposed generally perpendicular to the unmachinedleading floor surface; and a first trailing brake pad abutment that isspaced apart from the first leading brake pad abutment and that includesa trailing floor surface and a machined trailing wall surface is thatdisposed generally perpendicular to the trailing floor surface, whereinthe machined trailing wall surface has a surface roughness that is lessthan a surface roughness of the unmachined leading wall surface.
 2. Thebrake carrier of claim 1 wherein the trailing floor surface has asurface roughness that is less than a surface roughness of theunmachined leading floor surface.
 3. The brake carrier of claim 1wherein the first trailing brake pad abutment further comprises a ledgesurface that extends from the machined trailing wall surface toward thefirst leading brake pad abutment, wherein the ledge surface is spacedapart from the trailing floor surface and is disposed substantiallyparallel to the trailing floor surface.
 4. The brake carrier of claim 1further comprising a second leading brake pad abutment and a secondtrailing brake pad abutment cooperate to define a second opening forreceiving a second brake pad, wherein the first leading brake padabutment has a different configuration than the second leading brake padabutment.
 5. The brake carrier of claim 3 wherein the ledge surface isdisposed above the trailing floor surface.
 6. The brake carrier of claim1 wherein the surface roughness of the machined trailing wall surface isless than or equal to 10 micrometers.
 7. The brake carrier of claim 1wherein the unmachined leading wall surface and the unmachined leadingfloor surface have a surface roughness greater than 10 micrometers. 8.The brake carrier of claim 1 wherein the unmachined leading floorsurface is coplanar with the trailing floor surface.
 9. The brakecarrier of claim 1 wherein the unmachined leading floor surface and theunmachined leading wall surface are as-cast surfaces.
 10. The brakecarrier of claim 9 wherein the trailing floor surface is an as-castsurface.
 11. The brake carrier of claim 1 wherein the trailing floorsurface is a machined trailing floor surface.
 12. The brake carrier ofclaim 11 wherein the machined trailing floor surface has a surfaceroughness that is less than or equal to 10 micrometers.
 13. The brakecarrier of claim 11 wherein the machined trailing floor surface iscoplanar with the unmachined leading floor surface.
 14. The brakecarrier of claim 1 wherein a bridge extends from the first leading brakepad abutment to the first trailing brake pad abutment.
 15. The brakecarrier of claim 14 wherein the bridge extends from a leading outboardportion of the first leading brake pad abutment to a trailing outboardportion of the first trailing brake pad abutment.
 16. The brake carrierof claim 15 wherein the first leading brake pad abutment has a leadinginboard portion that is spaced apart from the leading outboard portion,the unmachined leading floor surface and the unmachined leading wallsurface are provided with the leading outboard portion, and the leadinginboard portion has a second leading brake pad abutment that has anunmachined leading floor surface that is aligned and coplanar with theunmachined leading floor surface of the leading outboard portion and anunmachined leading wall surface that is aligned and coplanar with theunmachined leading wall surface of the leading outboard portion.
 17. Thebrake carrier of claim 16 wherein the first trailing brake pad abutmenthas a trailing inboard portion that is spaced apart from the trailingoutboard portion, the trailing floor surface and the machined trailingwall surface are provided with the trailing outboard portion, and thetrailing inboard portion has a second trailing brake pad abutment thathas a trailing floor surface that is aligned and coplanar with thetrailing floor surface of the trailing outboard portion and a machinedtrailing wall surface that is aligned and coplanar with the machinedtrailing wall surface of the trailing outboard portion.
 18. The brakecarrier of claim 1 wherein the first leading brake pad abutment and thefirst trailing brake pad abutment cooperate to define a first openingfor receiving a first brake pad.
 19. The brake carrier of claim 1wherein the unmachined leading wall surface and the machined trailingwall surface face toward each other and are disposed substantiallyparallel to each other.